There's a raw and live sound to these tracks that makes you feel like you're in the same room as the band, sharing something honest and real. You can see how this fast recording method works via their YouTube Channel.

Band member Rich Huxley shares his insights on what true independence can do for a band's career in a recent post on the Creative Deconstruction website titled The Declarations of Independents. The article provides information about the social strategies, ideas and tools used by the band to connect with fans, both online and off.

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Inspired by a photograph of birds perched on the wires of a street light, journalist and musician Jarbas Agnelli decided to write a song using the relative proximity of the birds as notes on a stave. "Birds on the Wires" is his musical interpretation of the picture. He says "Inspiration can come from anywhere, but we must be alert". You can follow Jarbas at http://twitter.com/jarbas_agnelli

The video has received widespread attention, appearing on popular websites like Laughing Squid, Wired, and Gizmodo. Jarbas's friend, Sean Crownover (Candlegravity) from Tokyo, has also posted a version on his FaceBook page (player bottom left).

"...recombinancy appears everywhere as a natural evolutionary and creative process. All the great books in the English language, for example, are constructed from recombinations of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Similarly, most of the great works of Western art music exist as recombinations of the twelve pitches of the equal-tempered scale and their octave equivalents. The secret lies not in the invention of new letters or notes but in the subtlety and elegance of their recombination."

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Swedish folk/indie duo First Aid Kit release their new songs "Hard Believer" and "Waltz for Richard" on October 5th via http://www.wichita-recordings.com/ - If you like the song above you can vote for it to appear on the official BBC 6 Music Playlist through Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist, the vote closes at midnight on Sunday 6th.

In fact it was their video cover of the Fleet Foxes "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" that attracted worldwide attention in 2008 (currently at 790,987 views).

The girls will be touring the UK with Fanfarlo during September/October. You can get tour details and purchase tickets via their website or Music Glue (includes exclusive free tracks). They have also announced tour dates for The United States of America in October, see their MySpace for further info.

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Australian electronic music artist Pogo has started a blog at http://pogotracks.blogspot.com/ currently featuring an FAQ and a list of interviews. His unique sound comes from the sampling, sequencing and reimagining of popular childhood movies. Tracks are constructed using sounds lifted from movie scenes (sometimes entirely), drums, bass and percussion.

Melodies are formed using cut-up dialogues in a non-lexical vocal style; "There are no definitive lyrics to my tracks because I have never intended to form sentences with the samples I use." The music is then synced to video cuts from the original movie to create a new mini-trailer.

Pogo has a growing fan-base on YouTube where fresh uploads and the viral potential of video widgets quickly attract thousands of visitors. Creations such as Expialidocious have now reached far in excess of half a million views. You can browse the growing collection of mashups at http://www.youtube.com/user/Fagottron

Below is the recent video for his track 'Bangarang' composed of sounds from the classic Spielberg film 'Hook'

Today, Sony Pictures Entertainment claimed that 'Bangarang' is an infringement of copyright, and the video has been removed from YouTube. I suppose this had to happen eventually given the kind of world we live in. (September 10th 2009).

Unfortunately this is a common experience for remixers of controlled media, such are the constraints of heavily restricted copyrights. However you can still play and download the full track here (while it lasts!)

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Mosaik is the electronic music project of Stockholm based musician Jakob Svanholm. The Apologies EP features 7 instrumental tracks that combine melodic bass and synth sequences with delicate percussive rhythms. The sonic spaces are subtle and calming, with centered tonal themes, repeating motifs and ambient textures that conjure the emotions and imagination.